


relationship tactics

by patroclustic



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fake Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Im not good at tagging these things, Jealousy, M/M, PDA
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-17 11:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16973469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patroclustic/pseuds/patroclustic
Summary: “Oh! Uh, long story. Marty and I caught each other at the park on Saturday. We played a few games of basketball and…”Marty jumped in to finish the story, wrapping an arm around TJ’s shoulders. “And then we started talking and one thing led to another. Things moved kind of fast, but you know, when you like someone, right? We’ve been dating since Sunday.”





	1. explain away

“Uh… What did we miss?”

The usual layout of the lunch table had Marty, Buffy, and Andi on one side. The other side was always Cyrus, Jonah, and TJ. Not today. Marty and TJ had reached the table first and were sitting beside each other. The weirdest part wasn’t the changeup of the assigned seating. It was the way that TJ’s side was pressed against Marty, the way that Marty was cracking up at something TJ had said as if it was the funniest thing. Although the trio was not there to hear what TJ had said, they doubted it deserved that laugh.

“TJ was just telling me abo-“ Marty began, only to be interrupted by Buffy talking again.

“Not whatever made you split a spleen. I mean, what’s this? What are you guys doing?” Buffy’s eyes flickered between the two men, deciding to sit across from them, her two best friends on either side of them. It was fair to say Andi and Cyrus looked just as lost. The typical lunch had TJ and Marty swapping a few words at most, maybe getting into a conversation once a week. There wasn’t any bad blood between them, but they didn’t mesh too well.

At least, that is what everyone else had assumed. The way that TJ was keeping his eyes on Marty proved their thoughts wrong. “Oh! Uh, long story. Marty and I caught each other at the park on Saturday. We played a few games of basketball and…”

Marty jumped in to finish the story, wrapping an arm around TJ’s shoulders. The PDA showcased by the pair was enough for Andi to fake gag towards Buffy, getting a hesitant nod. “And then we started talking and one thing led to another. Things moved kind of fast, but you know, when you like someone, right? We’ve been dating since Sunday.”

Three days ago and they were just finding out about this? Yesterday they were sitting across each other and said five words to each other, which was just an exchange of greetings then ‘laters’. Now all of a sudden they were getting affectionate and giving each other a newlywed look. If someone could please fill the good hair crew in on what was going on, please speak up now.

“Yesterday you guys barely looked at each other,” Andi began in disbelief, filling in the silence for the shocked silent Buffy and Cyrus. They all seemed skeptical of this development.

Marty shrugged, speaking up again, and was he leaning his head on TJ’s shoulder? The only explanation that could possibility justify all of those changes coming out of nowhere would be a step into an alternate reality. “We wanted to hide it since I’m not officially out as bi, but it was too hard. It was hard pretending to be just kind of friends, even for two days.”

“It’s not a big deal for you guys, right?” Although TJ was asking that question to the entire table, his eyes seemed to be focused on Cyrus. That wasn’t convenient for Cyrus who couldn’t take his eyes off of the touches between the other two boys, still wrapping his head around this new information. Out of all the relationship pairings possible at this time, that had to be the last possible one to cross anyone’s mind. Even TJ and Buffy would make more sense than TJ and Marty!

None of the three seemed to be saying anything. Andi just didn’t care enough, nor did she have an opinion on this. She knew her other two friends should be the ones to answer, anyway. Buffy had admitted to feelings for Marty weeks ago and although Cyrus never said anything about TJ, the girls had their suspicions that they had shared. With the silence still lingering, Andi stomped on Cyrus’ foot underneath of the table, a silent instruction to say something before the smile on Marty and TJ’s faces disappeared completely.

“Ow!” Cyrus shouted. Andi shot him a look with furrowed brows, a look that shouted at him to shut up and answer the question already. “Oh! Yeah. I mean, we’re cool with it. I mean, why wouldn’t we be cool with it? You’re our friend, Marty’s our friend, we’re all still friends. It’s cool.”

Maybe Andi should have had Buffy talk.

“What Cyrus is saying with his terrible lack of being able to string together a good thought is that we don’t care. It’s your guys’ business. Do you,” Buffy filled in. That was much better. Andi nodded encouragingly at the two boys across from her. This was going to take getting used to.

That got a too wide grin from both the boys who seemed to have magnets on their side. Grins so wide it seemed to be exaggerated, though none of the other kids could question it too much. It was hard to question that grins when instead, they were still stuck on the weird pairing.

When Buffy was finally able to completely snap herself out of the trance, she started a conversation about her basketball team, mentioning the progress she was making with it. All while she talked, she couldn’t help but to give a continuous glance out of the side of her eyes at TJ and Marty. Cyrus was caught doing the same thing, as if the both of them just couldn’t believe this scene was real.

Before Buffy could finish talking about how most girls could at least shoot baskets now without fail 50% of the time, Jonah sat down next to TJ. “Hey guys!” Jonah greeted, setting his tray down a little too hard on the table. It took him a second to realize what was going on beside him. “Uh… am I missing something?”

“Explain away, lovebirds,” Buffy groaned, giving up on her story so they could hear the lackluster love story again.

 

* * *

 

After the group of six met up at the lockers and said goodbye at the end of the school day, they split up into new groups to head home. Andi went on her own when Bex picked her up, Jonah on his own, Buffy and Cyrus together, then Marty and TJ together. The new couple were the first two to go, almost forcing this image of lovebirds as they walked away with hands held.

Which maybe the image was forced coming from the two of them. Marty’s last relationship did not involve constant staring at the other. TJ might not have had his first relationship – unless you count this one – but he did doubt he would be gaga over someone after four days of serious talking. No, it wasn’t how they would act in a real relationship.

All of it was pretend. Two nights of preparing that short backstory of their relationship, covering the basics in case they were asked any questions or had to know the rough facts of each other’s lives. They would admit that they skipped studying for a history exam so that they could study each other’s family, complete with two Quizlet sets.  
The walk home – which the two only took together because they had to make this realistic enough to fool all of their friends – was awkward. They didn’t have much in common apart from both being in sports and having the same crew of friends. They didn’t enjoy any of the same things. During their study “date”, they had compared interests. No similar music taste, TV or movie, hobbies, or interests. It wasn’t a wonder why they had never clicked.

“Driscoll did seem surprised. Not sure if it’s more from being jealous or from you ‘dating’ her worst enemy.” TJ had to break the silence of their walk home.

“She doesn’t hate you anymore. Can barely stand you most of the time? Yes. But she doesn’t hate you. Let’s hope for the first. Cyrus didn’t seem too happy with things.”

The jealousy and upset feelings of their friends is what they shot for. With each pained expression and uninterested glance their way, it meant that maybe they had a shot with their crush. Playing with their feelings might be a terrible move to make, but wasn’t it worth it if it meant they stood any kind of chance?

Without this, they might never have made a move. Neither seemed to be making progress on the relationship field, anyway. If no dates came out of this, at least they could have a good time with the utter confusion from their friends.

Based on day one? They might be making quick progress.


	2. Status Report

There was much more glitter on this poster than normal. It took a total of three hours just to get it perfect and that wasn’t even counting the hour and a half spent planning on the design or the message. There was no ulterior motive behind the extra stickers in the corners. If anyone tried to say that Cyrus was overcompensating after hearing the news about TJ and Marty, they were…. Right. They were right, yes. Cyrus was vying for more attention from TJ, the guy who didn’t text him last night or the night before, apart from a single message saying he would be busy with Marty. Buffy got the same text from Marty for the past few nights. It got to the point where Andi was going insane from the pity sessions at The Spoon.

This poster should win him over some attention. If it finally got him a night with TJ, he would consider it a success. Even if the night ended up with him third-wheeling or with him hearing about nothing but Marty. Time with TJ was time with TJ.

Showing up early for the basketball game and getting a front row seat made Cyrus feel like he had a good shot. If showing his undying support for his friend didn’t get him at least a movie together, that would make the stolen art supplies from Andi a complete waste.

Seats around him were finally beginning to fill up, bleachers piling up to the top. Cyrus couldn’t pay attention to any of the buzz around him, eyes focused on the center of the court, waiting impatiently. TJ would love the poster!

All of the anticipation running through his veins finally was satisfied when the players came out on the court and there TJ was, giving Cyrus one of the cheesiest grins and a nod. There was the validation and the appreciation that Cyrus had been waiting for. There was no doubt he would get his time with TJ tonight, finally splitting the lovebirds up for just a couple of hours.

“He looks great out there, doesn’t he?” Marty. Cyrus had no need to look back to see who spoke or who was pressing their large hand on his shoulder. This had to be a joke. Defeated, the hold on the poster got weaker, not caring to wave it up as high as he usually did. That show of affection was for Marty. Why did Cyrus not realize that he would be here, supporting his boyfriend? It was hard to give an actual reply apart from a nod when Cyrus still had his eyes focused on TJ as he started the game, eyes bouncing around with the ball.

The stupid couple. It felt almost pointless to try anymore. Maybe Buffy was right and they just had to wait for the honeymoon effect to wear off before they would get anytime with their friends again. Any solo time, at least.

Marty slipped into an empty seat beside Cyrus, sitting so close that Cyrus could feel it, only making him grow more frustrated. There was no need to be this upset with his friends when they just were in love. That was unfair. Maybe he had his moments of jealously with Andi and Jonah, but it didn’t get this bad. It was easy for him to spend time with the both of them without his mind being consumed by why not me?

The weight of an arm resting on his shoulder made Cyrus drop the poster, the basketball made out of glitter dirtying up the gym floor. “I don’t even have the right to be upset about not making the team, anymore. Not when instead I got to watch him. Besides, he is much better than me. Not for long, though. We were almost late to school this morning since we got distracted playing one-on-one.”

They were spending even more time together than Cyrus thought. Almost every waking moment. It wouldn’t come to him as a shock now if Marty admitted that they also talked on the phone until they both fell asleep, leaving the call to run all night long…

Cyrus made a noise of agreement, the poster he had spent so much time on being crushed under his feet. “That’s great! Maybe soon you’ll be out there. You guys probably work better as a team than one-on-one,” he complimented after a minute of finding his voice. More unwarranted jealousy surged through him at the thought of Marty getting on the team, knowing it would mean more time for the couple.

It should not be this difficult to be happy for two of his friends.

Marty chuckled, eyes trained on TJ even during this conversation. Cyrus was too busy looking back and forth, out to the sea of players than back to the sea of Marty’s admittedly nice eyes that TJ probably fell for. “I don’t know. I’m more focused on trying to be on the track team right now. That way TJ can support me, too. Running is more my specialty.”

Now there was an image of both boys wearing each other’s jerseys in support. No thanks, Marty. Cyrus would have been very happy not imagining such a cutesy concept that he would find perfect on any other couple.

“That’s… great.” Cyrus couldn’t try too hard to make conversation, positive that with each word from Marty’s mouth, his mood would just plummet more. His eyes flashed back to Marty and maybe it was just Cyrus’s mind messing with him, but he could swear that Marat looked even happier after that disinterested reply and the blank look Cyrus was wearing. That had to be just his mind messing with him. That had to be it.

The rest of the game went by with Marty constantly talking about TJ and Cyrus wishing it were him that was the lovesick puppy, not Marty. He hadn’t even realized when the game finally ended, stare too blank and not really focusing on anything, not even able to focus on TJ.

That wasn’t until TJ ran over to the pair of boys once the game was over. Cyrus jumped into action and was on his feet, no longer looking pathetic as a grin came to his face. “TJ! You did great out there! Nothing new, but I’m sure I can’t say it too many times, can I?” That and he welcomed TJ with open arms, inviting him in for a hug.

But TJ ignored that invitation, instead pulling Marty in for a hug. The other boy was whispering to TJ how good he did. At least, that’s what Cyrus assumed was being whispered. The smile didn’t leave Cyrus’s face, but it did have to be forced on this time.

After the hug between the couple finally split up, TJ focused more on Cyrus, clapping a hand on his shoulder. So Marty got a hug and Cyrus got a boop on the shoulder. The two must be trying to kill Cyrus, that had to be it.

“Thanks, Underdog. Marty and I are going out for milkshakes to celebrate. Do you want to come with?”

And third-wheel? No way, no thanks. “Raincheck? I’m going over to Buffy’s, but I’ll be celebrating for you in spirit!”

“Oh. Well, see you later then?” TJ said, satisfied when he got a nod from Cyrus. TJ’s arm wrapped around Marty, dragging him to the locker rooms and talking to him now. “Wait outside the locker room while I change then we can head out? I won’t keep you waiting!”

That left Cyrus alone, poster ignored on the ground as he walked out of the gymnasium texting the group chat with Andi and Buffy, calling for an emergency hangout.

* * *

 

Homework was done an hour ago and now Netflix was on, specifically a cooking competition. Any sort of competition pleased Buffy, so of course she had suggested watching this as soon as math had been stuffed away in their backpacks. Marty was sitting behind her on the couch as she was on the floor, both of them rooting for their favorites and bashing the worst in the competition.

“He did not just put an egg in an avocado and call that a good dish, did he? Marty, if he wins this episode, we are not watching the finale. You can turn on one of your sitcoms instead,” Buffy rambled, turning her head around just to see Marty on his phone. She groaned, closing her eyes so she could roll them in secret. “Let me guess. TJ?”

Marty gave a smile, something like he got caught in the act of something he shouldn’t be doing. “Yeah, sorry. Don’t worry. I’m still paying attention!” Marty defended, not even lifting his eyes from the text on his miniature screen to see Buffy in front of him or the food on the large screen in front of the both of them.

“Yeah, yeah. How many teams are remaining again?” Buffy quizzed, testing to see if Marty was actually paying any attention to the show at all. She had her bets running that he hadn’t paid attention for the last three episodes at the least.

“Uh… two?” Buffy took a large breath, shaking her head. Of course he didn’t know what was going on in this show anymore. She resigned herself, leaning back against the couch with her elbows propped up on the cushions. She might as well be home alone watching this and there would be nothing different.

Buffy kept the commentary running, interrupting the show when she disagreed with the judges or the actions of one of the Michelin star chefs. Marty didn’t add much to the conversation, too buried in his phone. The only times he talked were to give a non-committal noise of agreement or to talk about something that TJ had said. She almost missed the days where they both disliked the basketball player.

As Buffy was going in to reach for the remote to pause the finale so she could take a bathroom break and grab them snacks from Marty’s kitchen, someone else stepped into the living room, someone who instantly walked toward the couch with his face lit up.

TJ. Stupid TJ. Stupid TJ stealing away her time with Marty, whether he was here physically or not.

Buffy had to scrunch up her face in confusion, looking to Marty as if he had an answer as to why the other was here.

“I thought we were hanging out tonight. Did we send an invite to TJ and I suddenly forgot?” Buffy asked, lack of guilt at the resentment in her voice. It was hard to pin down the cause of the tone. It was an equal tie of past problems with him and the jealousy.

Marty shrugged, patting the seat beside him while staring at TJ. Of course. “Hey, I didn’t know that he was coming over either. Not that I’m complaining. It’s a nice surprise, don’t you think so?”

The nod of agreement that Buffy gave had to be the fakest one she had given. This was a terrible surprise. The rest of the night was supposed to be for the two of them and the two of them only. Nobody had invited TJ!

“Sorry, Driscoll. Didn’t know Marty had anyone else over. I missed him. Besides, we still have two more episodes of our show to watch,” TJ shrugged, causing Buffy to look away in disgust. Our show, meaning they had something they coined as theirs. There was no way she would stick around with this.

Buffy used the couch to push herself up on her feet, moving around to push her notebook and pencils into her backpack without any warning. “In that case, you probably want alone time with him, don’t you? I can tell when I’m not wanted. Right now, I think Cyrus and Andi want me more, so have fun.”

The rebuttals from Marty were only half-interested, calling as she walked out with the backpack on her shoulder. Telling Buffy that she was wanted her, TJ throwing in one single comment before snuggling up next to his boyfriend.

She definitely needed time with her best friends.

* * *

 

“Status report.”

“Coming over while Buffy was here? Perfect plan. One of them are going to have to admit something eventually, right? You saw Cyrus at the game. They’re both boiling over,” Marty said with excitement, putting space between the two of them as soon as the front door closed.

“I feel bad, though. You saw the sign Cyrus brought to the game and I just blew it off. This plan better work out quickly.”

“Trust me. I want it to, too. Otherwise Buffy might snap on one of us. Probably you. Sorry, TJ.”

“Yeah, yeah. So – time for The Good Place?”

“Turn it on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As if I was going to let this go without a mention of The Good Place. Everyone watch it.
> 
> Also, Tarty is kind of a cute friendship.


	3. impress me

Buffy could be a little overdramatic, but rarely. The theatrics were more Cyrus’ thing, someone who should really be in the drama department based on how he has been narrating the TJ and Marty updates daily.

For the full month of TJ and Marty’s new relationship, Buffy and her two best friends made sure to spend at least three nights together, needing the comfort for the majority of their small best friend group. During each of these sleepovers, Cyrus would dramatically relay the latest news about TJ and Marty – with both Buffy and Cyrus hoping for a break-up without actually admitting it.

It would be much easier to console a broken friend than for them to continue with this heart break when there was zero progress moving on. Despite Andi’s continued attempts to make the two move on, all of it failed. It shouldn’t be a surprise when Andi herself had been hung up over Jonah for such a long time.

Tonight, the main topic was about the note that TJ had slipped into Marty’s locker. It was a note that Marty had showed off during their lunch period.

Well, bragged about. He kept the note to his chest and wouldn’t let anybody read it, although he read it out loud to the rest of the table. Cyrus unfortunately reminded Buffy of TJ coming to the table and realizing what was going on, just for TJ to get this lovesick look on his face and for Marty to teasingly calling him variations of ‘cheesy’ and ‘corny’. 

There was no need for them to be torturing themselves by bringing up this topic every single sleepover that they had. No amount of pizza could cure a first heartbreak, no matter how much Bex insisted that they just needed the stuffed crust to really get them started on the road to moving on.

Buffy and Cyrus weren’t buying it, although they wouldn’t mind another medium pizza just for themselves to gorge on. 

There was another tangent that Andi was going on, talking about her mother’s latest crazy customer at her shop – a story that was getting giggles out of the three of them, no longer thinking of their own teenage woes.

Immersion brought her out of them until her phone buzzed and temptation made it impossible to put it off for later, not caring how rude it was to check the message in the middle of Andi’s story. They were close enough for her to scan the text without it being offensive or making her seem like she was no longer interested in the story being told.

**Marty**

_hey buffy!_

_tj's_ _birthday is next week and_ _i_ _still need to find him a gift_

_wanna_ _do me good and help pick_ _smth_ _out_ _tmrw_ _?_

_pls?_

Maybe Buffy should pick up meditation or something. That series of texts caused her distress like few texts have done before – a low amount, but still enough to irritate her to an end she didn’t want to be at.

The honest answer was she didn’t want to do Marty the solid. Shouldn’t he be asking Cyrus for help anyway? If anyone knew TJ well, that would be Cyrus Goodman and nobody else. Every detail about TJ that Buffy knew was based off of a few heated conversations with him, overhearing bits about him at their table, or facts Cyrus would rattle off about him.

Even Andi would be a better help picking out a better gift for TJ. Andi who apparently had stopped her story midsentence and now both Cyrus and Andi were staring at Buffy, wondering what was on her phone interesting enough to leave her staring with scrunched up eyebrows.

“We’re not busy tomorrow, right?” Buffy double checked, wanting to take this as an opportunity to grow more used to the relationship and move on faster. This was the adult thing to do.

Andi answered first, tilting her head to the side in concentration for a handful of swift seconds before she shook her head. “Nope. I’m going to the mall with my mom and Cyrus has family visiting. Everyone’s booked tomorrow.”

Buffy grinned, waving her hand at Andi. “Good news. Now finish the story. What did Bex do when the girl demanded a refund?” Pushing the conversation forward and looking back down at her phone, she was focusing on all of her friends at once. 

**Buffy**

_i'm_ _free to help out. do you have any ideas what you’re getting him?_

**Marty**

_no idea_

_i'm_ _not the world’s greatest gift giver_

**Buffy**

_can't be worse than_ _jonah_

_i'll_ _be on card and gift bag duty. you pick the gift_

_see you tomorrow,_ _marty_

**Marty**

_you're the best_

_see_ _you_

_goodnight (:_

Was she about to read too much into that smile? Oh, she definitely was, already feeling elated by the emoji that actually had virtually zero meaning and by the goodnight, something that should not make her feel so special.

TJ was probably getting a more personalized and sweeter goodnight message anyway. 

* * *

 

Even when hanging out with the guy she was still into, Buffy didn’t dress to impress anybody but herself. That was something Bex had complimented her on long ago, remarking about how it was good to be driven by her own self-confidence and aesthetics than by judgements from other people – at least when it came to appearance or personality.

Because of that, Buffy would never admit to how it ran boiling affection through her veins when Marty saw her at the small, local shop and said she looked good. Good. That was such a lame compliment and it actually made her smile in her head. 

“I look good? Wow, no wonder TJ is with you. You’re such a sweet talker,” Buffy mumbled in jest, eyes already scoping out the area to catch her eyes on something that shouted TJ. None of these things even whispered TJ’s name. She figured Marty had some idea of what to get here otherwise what would be the point?

“Be glad you’re getting anything nice at all,” Marty teased back, nodding his head toward a rack in the corner. “There’s cards over there. Mind looking for a good one? I saw something the other day that made me think of TJ. I need to find it then I’ll meet you over there.”

“Already on it.” Easy peasy then Marty promised to treat her to frozen yogurt after. Wasn’t a complete heart-shattering day. Buffy headed to the rack of cards, all covered with drawings and cheesy quotes. Gross. None of them were her style. Not a single one. A few did surprisingly shout “TJ Kippen”, though. Maybe she knew him better than she thought?

Before she started giving a deeper scan, she pulled out her phone to check the time. 1:38 pm. It shouldn’t take Marty more than fifteen minutes to find what he needed if he had something with his eyes on it already as he had claimed. That would be more than enough time to choose a decent card. Maybe the one with puppies? Who didn’t like animals?

The final decision came down between the initial one with puppies or a card that had a hilarious pun on it, something about it being a ‘birthday cod’ instead of a ‘birthday card’. With how cheesy and soft TJ could be, surely, he had to like lame puns. 

To be extra sure, she sent a picture of both cards to Cyrus. Enlisting the help of Cyrus was definitely cheating. All it did was ensure TJ would like the card! 

Before the message could be opened by Cyrus, Marty was tapping on her shoulder. A quick glance at her phone showed it had been ten minutes since they parted ways. Took even less time than she was expecting.

There was already a bag in Marty’s hand, only doing work to confuse Buffy. “You already bought something? I thought you’d wait until there was a card?” Buffy shrugged his shoulders, reaching to be nosey and peek what he had bought his boyfriend. 

Marty shook his head, pulling the bag close to his chest. “Nope. I’ll show you when we’re eating, okay? I figured I didn’t need a card for this.”

That only made Buffy more interested about the contents of the bag. Again, she reached for the plastic sack and again, she failed. “You’re torturing me.” The snort from Marty was agonizing.

It was torturous, that fifteen-minute walk from the shop and to the frozen yogurt place that wasn’t too far away. Any further away and Buffy might have exploded from anticipation, stubborn and hating when she wasn’t involved on someone little secret right in front of her eyes.

The process of getting their frozen yogurt couldn’t be enjoyed when she was focused on the bag, choosing a flavor and topping without any focus on the act. It made her end up with the gross combination of watermelon yogurt with peanut butter syrup on top of it – never again would she let herself make that disgusting mistake. 

It almost seemed worth the atrocious flavor filling her taste buds when they sat down at a secluded table and the bag was placed on the table. Marty was temporarily ignoring his dessert to open up the bag, avoiding eye contact with Buffy for... whatever reason. 

His hand reached into the bag, giving Buffy a look that she was not doing a good job at reading. Nervous? Bored? Fed up with Buffy’s nosiness? “Before I show you, there’s kind of something I need to tell you.”

Something to tell her. Nothing logical came to Buffy’s mind, unable to think of what was important enough to warrant a warning before she got to see a gift meant for TJ’s birthday. There was no logical forewarning she needed for this knickknack that held sentimental value. A wave of her hand was her sign of playing along, encouraging him to confess whatever he had hidden from her.

“It’s about me and Teej.” Buffy nodded, paying closer attention now. Were they broken up? No – it wouldn’t make sense for him to be so excited for buying a gift then. Also, why did she feel excitement at that initial thought? Maybe she was secretly cruel-intentioned. “Don’t be mad, alright? Actually, be mad. I know we deserve it. Just use most of the anger on him.”

Marty paused his talking, pulling the secret object from the bag, but keeping it secret still by wrapping his fingers around it, not letting any gaps show off what was under his hand. “We have  _kind of_ been pretending to date. We were supposed to keep it up longer, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve been getting really impatient and I know TJ has, too.” At this point, Buffy’s mouth was agape, opening it up to say something, to get out everything running through her head, to make sense of this confession. 

It was all fake. Fake for what reason? There was never any reason to be jealous of a relationship that although seemingly perfect was truly just a hoax. 

“No! Don’t say anything yet. Let me finish,” Marty commanded. Lucky for him, Buffy gave in, crossing her arms over her chest and sinking back in her chair. Those boys were going to get a speech later on about what was right and wrong to lie to friends about.

Nervously (yes, this time Buffy knew it was nerves), Marty fidgeted with whatever was in his hand. “We were trying to make you and Cyrus jealous. I know it wasn’t fair. I know there’s a chance I’m saying this all to you for nothing, but it wouldn’t be the first time I embarrassed myself in front of you. So – I'm sorry for the stupid fake relationship you guys supported so much. I know that you might not like me like that even now, but if you do,” Marty spoke, dropping the item in his hands down in front of Buffy. “I want to go out with you. For real, not pretend.”

Okay, Buffy was speechless. It was hard for her to speak her mind like she typically did when her mind was currently running under a 404 error, comprehending everything. The TJ and Marty relationship had been a scam. Marty had feelings for her. Marty wanted to date her. The gift for TJ was apparently for her, actually. Upon inspection, Buffy realized it was a friendship-style bracelet with a basketball pattern running around it. It had major Andi and Jonah vibes, but so much better considering she actually wanted to don it.

“You’re an idiot. I can’t believe I actually like someone as foolish as you,” Buffy said in astonishment, taking on the challenge of putting the bracelet on her wrist with one hand. That was clear enough to show Marty that yes, she wanted this. “Before it’s official, you’re going to have to take me out on a real date, though. One that’s not under false pretenses. Impress me.”

That was enough to send both of them into states of bliss.

Add Cyrus to that state of bliss once Buffy filled him in on this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took awhile! i've been busy with this thing called lyf. 
> 
> also, idek if it's canon if any of the characters like frozen yogurt, but if a character doesn't canonically like froyo, they don't deserve accurate representation.


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